Night of the Hunter

Prologue  A soft wind sighed through the branches of ancient trees, disturbing the dull turquoise waters of a small pool. It lay at the base of a tall marble statue of a robed woman that was slowly being reclaimed by the forest. The night was eerily silent and still, belying the impression made by an unusually bright full moon and sparkling stars. The usual creatures that visited the small clearing and surrounding wood were suspiciously absent, as if driven into hiding by something in spite of the peaceful night. Beneath the calm, the air tingled with a foreign energy, unfamiliar to all except the cloaked figure slowly approaching the pool. Small of stature and no more than a shadow among the huge trunks and brush, the woman moved with purpose. Her skin prickled as little currents in the air danced across her it. The sensation was as an old friend, welcome and soothing. She had been anticipating the moment she felt the atmosphere live again for many lifetimes. Only vaguely did she know where she was going, but the feeling pulled her along with a faint memory as its compass. She had followed this trail only once before, and the path was overgrown and rocky with an age of disuse. The ancient trail she walked was nearly invisible, even in the day. Only the remnants of the Aether had kept it from being wholly lost to the ageless wildwood- one of the last of its kind. Every so often she would lose her footing, but she refused to stop. Instead, she fought every step to maintain her stride. This call was hers to heed, and heed it she would. There was no other choice, even if she wanted one. Her destiny had been woven into the very fabric of Fate with a single word when she was barely out of girlhood. The moon had reached its peak as she broke into the small clearing. Wading through knee high weeds, stopping when she reached shorter grass closer to the banks of the pool. She let out a soft sigh at the state it all. She had expected something like what lay before her, but she was sure the power of the Aether would do more to protect the site itself. However, it was worse than she had thought. Vines crept up and curled around the carefully crafted statue and brambles choked berry bushes. Flower stalks barely poked through grasses and weeds, fighting for life. The pool itself, though, was what truly broke her heart. Her mother had brought her to that very clearing as a young child. It had been beautiful then. Brilliant water shone like the surface of a mirror made from the purest silver, while flowering trees and fruit bearing bushes had surrounded the gleaming white-marble statue of Leathail, the First. No brambles or weeds could be found within a hundred yards in any direction of the spring. Carpets of soft river grass and clover extended from bank to tree line and were dotted with beautiful, wild blooms. Tall stemmed flowers grew close to the water, contrasting the low wildflowers and clover dotting the river grass. The difference was stark. Not even time and expectation of drastic change could have prepared her, because she knew what she stood before. It was an Aether Spring, a concentrated pool of liquid starlight. The very fabric of Fate and the Universe gathered into one location, gifted to Elkhar for its blessed Aether-Touched peoples in the Beginning. It was a blessing that had become a curse; the races of the Aether- Touched had become hated, feared, for their inherent power. They were despised and oppressed by the other peoples of Elkhar, at one time they were even hunted like common game. It was for such reasons that the cloaked woman had made her way to the shores of the spring with such haste and purpose when the sign came. "Kaitlynn Maeve Laughlin, you answer our summons." The echoing sound of many voices speaking as one emitted from Leathail's statue. Its eyes began to glow faintly and the vines withered away, falling to the ground and vanishing completely. "I have come as bidden." Kaitlynn answered softly, but steadily, as if unwilling to disturb the stillness in the small hollow. She faced the statue and drew back her hood, revealing clear blue eyes set into an almost powder-white face framed by coal black curls, a visual confirmation to the beings that she was the one they were expecting. Her gaze was steady on the stone face, features calm. Inside, however, Kaitlynn's heart thundered in her ears as it thrummed a humming bird's rhythm in her chest in a mixture of fear and excitement. "A wise choice, Lady Aardein. The time has come for you to uphold your end. Reclaim what has been lost. Free us and the last pieces will fall into place to complete our bargain."